An Answered Prayer
by Kristen3
Summary: Post-series. Mary goes to the airport to investigate a story, but things aren't going well, until she runs into an old friend. On-going (for now) story. Thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415) for helping with this!
1. Chapter 1

Mary couldn't believe she was here. She walked into the Minneapolis airport, surrounded by travelers, but she wasn't going anywhere, nor was she meeting someone. No, she was here on a professional basis. There had been an accident with one of the planes here last night. Facts were scarce, so her boss had sent her here to try to dig up information. But, if the incident might make the airlines look bad, it was very unlikely that anyone would talk.

She sighed in frustration. Sometimes, she felt like giving up on the news entirely. This job could definitely be stressful. She had thought she knew what stress was years ago, when she had to deal with Ted Baxter on a day-to-day basis. But working for one of the highest-rated stations in the city made that look like a cakewalk. Still, she reminded herself, this job gave her an independence that she loved. Dating was becoming a greater disappointment by the day. Once upon a time, she'd believed that she would find true love, get married, and have a perfect life with a white picket fence, two children and everything else she'd always wanted. But, now, that dream just didn't seem realistic.

 _I can do this_ , she thought as she walked up to what looked like an airline employee. "I'm with KPMN, and I'd like to ask a few questions about what happened here last night."

The young woman behind the counter looked bored. "Sorry, we've got no comment."

Mary couldn't say she was surprised by the response, but it frustrated her nonetheless. "Look, I know that's what you're supposed to say, but people are going to start asking questions. Not just reporters, either. I'm sure the police are already wondering if any laws were broken."

Her argument was met with a shrug. Clearly this young girl had no interest in answering Mary's questions. In fact, she didn't even seem to want to do her job at all.

"Well, thanks so much for talking to me," Mary muttered sarcastically. She turned around, planning to find somewhere to sit and try to figure out her next move.

But when she started to walk away from the counter, something made her stop in her tracks. "Mary Richards."

"Mr. Grant? What are you doing here?"

"First of all, none of that 'Mr. Grant' stuff. I'm not your boss anymore, Mary. My job in LA ended, so I figured I'd come back here. I'm not cut out for California."

"Lou," Mary said. She found that she felt no awkwardness in saying his name, as she had before. A definite sign that she had changed since then. "Well, I didn't think I'd see you here." She hugged him.

"I didn't think I'd see you, either," Lou said. "Are you going somewhere?"

"No. Although at the moment, I might like to." She sighed once again.

"What's the matter?" Concern was evident on her former boss' face.

Mary suddenly realized then how glad she was to see him. It was like the answer to a prayer she hadn't even said. "Well, it seems that last night, a flight was delayed due to a mechanical issue. But an insider says it's a bit more suspicious than that. My boss sent me here to get some facts, but I couldn't even get an answer." Mary looked over at the employee who'd avoided her question. "No one's going to talk. The whole story's going to be a disaster." Without warning, Mary could feel herself breaking down.

"Wow….this job's taking a toll, isn't it?" Lou asked. "Take it from a guy who's been in the news a lot longer than you have: it's just not worth it. Why don't you play hooky?"

"You want me to _lie_?" Mary asked, incredulous.

"Not lie, exactly. Call your boss and say something came up, and you need to take the rest of the day off. I can tell you could use a break, and we need to catch up."

For a moment, Mary didn't know what to say. His offer sounded an awful lot like a date, and that was the last thing she wanted. No matter how stressful her job was, it was still better than going out with men who weren't worth her time. But then she remembered, this wasn't some stranger who didn't know the first thing about her. He was an old friend, and that was something she definitely needed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, I'm all yours," Mary said, walking back from the payphone. "My boss wasn't too happy, but I smoothed it over."

Lou smiled. "I bet you did. I happen to know you have a way with bosses."

Mary gave him a teasing look. "So, what should we do? I don't really care, as long as we leave this place."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. They fed us on the plane, but I wasn't about to eat that stuff. How about we grab some lunch?"

"All right," Mary quickly agreed. This day was already going much better than she'd imagined.

Half an hour later, Lou parked his rental car outside a restaurant. Mary looked over at him, still not believing this was real. How had he shown up just when she needed him the most? She was so lost in thought, she didn't even realize Lou had gotten out of the car and come around to her side.

"Well?" Lou asked, holding out his hand.

Mary smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry. I guess my mind was elsewhere."

"I hope it wasn't on work. You took the day _off_."

"I know," Mary said. "But I can't believe I'm doing this today!"

"Well, you are. I'm taking you to lunch. No arguments, so don't even think about reaching for the check."

Mary knew by Lou's tone that he was serious. She appreciated Lou's directness; it was a strong contrast to most of the men she'd been out with lately.

Lou walked her into the restaurant, arm in arm. He certainly was more of a gentleman than she'd remembered. They were escorted to their table and sat down. They were given menus. Mary picked hers up, pretending to study it intently.

"Mary." Lou gently grabbed her wrist. "I can tell you're nervous, but there's no reason to be. This isn't a date. It's just lunch with an old friend. We tried dating once before, remember? It didn't work, so let's just forget about that. Now, tell me about your life."

Mary breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm working for KPMN now, which is one of _the_ highest-rated news stations here in Minneapolis. It's nice to be doing a show that gets noticed for the right reasons." She laughed, remembering the years at WJM, when it was a big deal to _not_ be at the bottom of the ratings. "Other than that, there's not much to tell."

"So that's it? No man in your life?" Lou asked. Mary hadn't mentioned a husband or steady boyfriend, so he'd figured as much, but it was sad to think of her being alone.

"No. My dating life hasn't improved over the last few years. I think men are intimidated by a successful woman. The ones who aren't just don't seem to know what to do. I'm not really looking for a man to take care of me, you know? But I would like to share my life with someone."

Lou nodded. "I always knew you were waiting for someone special. And you deserved that. To tell you the truth, I was never that crazy about most of the guys I saw you with. It's hard to find somebody. I know how you feel." Once again, Lou reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

Mary looked down at his hand, surprised by the gesture. She looked back up and saw the look on his face. It was obvious he cared about her, as he always had. But now, suddenly, Mary found herself unable to recall exactly why they had ruled dating out all those years ago. Could it really be possible for her and her former boss to be a couple? "Lou," Mary spoke hesitantly. "Why did we decide dating was such a bad idea?"

Lou laughed. "Don't you remember? We kissed, and then we started laughing. God, we were so nervous that night. Like a couple of teenagers on our first date."

Mary laughed, too, remembering. "You're right. I wanted everything to be perfect. If we'd just relaxed, it would've been so much easier."

"It would've," Lou agreed, remembering what had happened after their kiss. They went back to having dinner, just as friends. Everything had seemed totally normal, now that romance was taken out of the equation.

"You know," Mary said, once again carefully choosing her words. "We decided dating wasn't a good idea a long time ago. But a lot has changed since then. We're at different places in our lives now."

Lou was surprised. Was she saying she wanted to give things another try? "You're right, we are. But where are you going with this?"

"I'm just saying we're not the same people we were then. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea now." Mary was relieved, now that the words were out in the open.

"Well, if that's what you think, there's only one way to test that theory." Lou leaned forward, doing something he hadn't thought about in years. Their lips met for the briefest second, before he drew back. They stared at each other for a second, each wondering what the other was thinking. After a few seconds, it became clear that neither was laughing.

"I guess we have our answer," Mary said, unable to believe what was happening.

"We do," Lou agreed. He was seeing her in a completely new way. It seemed as if this one conversation had changed their entire relationship. "Suddenly, I'm a bit scared. I mean, what do we do now?"

Mary nodded, understanding. "We see where this goes. You and I have something that we've never had with anyone else: history. We understand each other."

"Right," Lou agreed. "Well, now I'm glad I ran into you today."

"So am I," Mary said. She remembered what she'd thought back at the airport, that this was an answer to a prayer. It certainly was, in more ways than she ever could've imagined.

 **The End**


End file.
